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THE DECOY DUCK
By Frank Filson
(Copyright by W- G. Chapman.)
Lieut von Retzowhad only glanced
mechanically at the" list of ships
which his commanding officer had
given him when he took his subma
rine out of Cuxhaven. Now, reading
it, he felt his body grow rigid with
horror.
He took a letter from his pocket
one which had arrived from America
via Italy only two weeks before. It
was from Miss Lucy Bainbridge of
Cincinnati, O. Miss Bainbridge was
just an ordinary American girl, but
the only one in life for Von Retzow.
He had decided this when they met
in New York, while he was attache
to the flagship of the visiting German
squadron, and Miss Lucy, after long
deliberation, had written well, that
she wasn't sure, but she was coming
to England, and possibly she would
slip over to Holland with her aunt,
and, of course, if he had leave of ab
sence during this dreadful war
Lieut, von Retzow looked at the
list of ships expected in British wa
ters during the week that he was to
be absent He was to torpedo as
many of these as possible, lying on
the bottom of the sea between ex
ploits, to gain time and remain in
safety. And at the head of the list was
the Mariamne, on which Miss Bain
bridge was to sail.
His instructions were explicit ones.
He was to torpedo every merchant
ship within sight of his section of the
British seacoast He was to think
nothing of the lives of those aboard.
He was to dive as soon as he had
launched his missile upon its deadly
path, and to withdraw, leaving the
luckless passengers and crew to
perish.
The Mariamne was due to arrive
off the Scilly coast in a few hours.
Lieut, von Retzow, standing at the
wheel, felt the sweat pour down his
face. He stared out miserably across
the waters.
To send the woman he loved to
death among those waves seemed the
act of a devil. Yet that was his duty,
and he must carry it out or return
with his task unaccomplished, to face
disgrace and ruin.
He lay in wait just out of view of
the Scillies, dipping, rising again, or
floating almost submerged, with peri
scope above the waters, searching for
the doomed passenger vessel. She
I , , ,u n .u .
The Mariamne Was Now Clearly in
View
was due to sight the Scillies at about
4 in the afternoon, and precisely at 4
he saw the line of smoke upon the
horizon and through his glasses saw
the two funnels of the Abercromby
line.
He shouted down the engine tube
and ran awash toward the ship. No
other craft was upon the sea; every
one had scurried into security in fear
of. the raids.
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